IT’S official – honey-haired soap star Kelly Ripa is the new Kathie Lee.

Regis Philbin’s popular morning show will change its name to “Live with Regis and Kelly” next Monday – Ripa’s first official day as Philbin’s sidekick.

“Let’s get it over with,” Philbin told viewers first thing yesterday. “Say hello to my new co-host, Kelly Ripa!”

Like Philbin, Ripa will hold down two jobs for ABC. She will continue to play Hayley Vaughn Santos on the network’s long-running soap “All My Children” and appear daily on “Live.”

Philbin also hosts top-rated game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” “Between the two of us, we’ve got 40 percent of the schedule,” Philbin joked. “If we go down, ABC is over.”

Ripa – who is pregnant with her second child – said her role on “All My Children” will be significantly reduced. “I don’t think that I’ll have such a tremendous storyline as I’ve had,” she said. “I will be able to spend time my with children, which has always been my primary goal.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me and I just want to do a good job for Regis,” she said after yesterday’s show. “I don’t want to let anybody down here.”

Ripa said she was nervous that she might hurt the stellar ratings “Live” has drawn since Kathie Lee Gifford left the show last July.

“The really nerve-wracking thing is when all these articles are written about how Regis is number one all by himself and then you go, ‘Hi I’m the new girl coming in,'” she said.

“You think ratings are so high now, they can only go down. I just don’t want that to happen.”

Ripa, 31, has been on “All My Children” since 1990. She’s been nominated for daytime Emmys and won Best Actress in the 1999 New York International Film and Video Festival for her role on an upcoming cable movie, “The Stand In.”

Ripa – whose husband is her “All My Children” co-star Mark Consuelos – is expecting her baby in June and plans to take maternity leave from both shows.

Philbin said he’s confident Ripa will be a hit.

“We kind of knew it the first time she was on,” he said.

“She was sort of an ebullient personality and had a lot of the great qualities that we were looking for. Still – because it is such a big move for all of us – we invited her back three times, and by the third time it became apparent that she was going to be the one.”

Ripa said she got a message from Gifford congratulating her on landing the job.

“She wrote me a beautiful note telling me that she hopes I have 15 wonderful years with Regis like she had. She thinks I’m lucky and it’s a wonderful job.”

The search for Philbin’s co-host has been underway since last summer. Cybill Shepherd, Roseanne and Philbin’s wife, Joy, were among the many high-profile personalities who were rumored to be up for the job.

Ripa said the show’s producers made her an offer about two weeks ago. “It was the easiest contract to negotiate.”

“We thought she was terrific from the beginning,” “Live” executive producer Michael Gelman said. “Each time she came on we were more and more sure.”